I have been recruiting sales reps for pharmaceutical companies for the past decade and the question about needing a degree to break into pharmaceutical sales is something that comes up a LOT. In fact, just today, I got a Linkedin request and the person was asking if I can give advice on how she could get into pharma sales even though she does not have a degree. I thought about this for a minute and really could not provide any meaningful advice. I could of appeased her and said that there are some companies that value experience more than a degree, blah..blah.. blah. The cold reality is that in my 11 years of experience I have not come across that company that will hire a pharma rep without a degree.
Sorry, just telling it like it is!
The only advice I can give and this is usually something people do not want to here.
Get a degree!
If you are that interested in breaking into the pharmaceutical industry then you should be committed enough to take some night classes or online classes and actually obtain your degree.
Hi Dan,
I am a career/career transition coach and do not have the insight and experience you have related to breaking into pharmaceutical sales. I agree with your last statement encouraging her to get a degree. That being said, one approach that I recommended to people who are applying for a job outside their sector is to take a copy of an open job requisition that they are interested in and match their relevant experience to each hard requirement listed in the posting. Some skills are transerable outside the sector and some are not. I realize that this is a long shot but this give her an opportunity to apply for jobs in the field she is interested in and get a feel for what the market is like for someone in her position.
Nice blog!
Dave Gladstein
http://www.creatingchangecoaching.com